Lead-feeding pencil



L. L. BLAKE.

LEAD FEEDING PENCH.. APPLICATIONHLED luNEzs, |920.y

1,388,693, Patented Aug. 23, '1921.

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la jg UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LORING L. BLAKE, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 'IO BLAKE FENCIL CO., 0F

I CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

LEAD-FEELING PENCIL.

Application led June 2B,

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it vknown that l, Lorano L. BLAKE, citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illino is, have invented certain new and usefuli Improvements in a Lead-Feeding Pencil;

and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled 'in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to pencils having replaceable leads, and in one of :its general aspects aims to provide a simple, and easily mani ulated construction which will readily permit the lead to be moved backward or forward with respect to the casing of the holder,

and which can be used with leads varying somewhat in size without danger of clogging. In another aspect, my invention aims to provide a lead-feeding pencil so constructed that the portion gripping `the lead, as well as some of the parts associated with this portion, can easily be withdrawn entirely from the casing to permit an inspection ofthe parts and overcome clogging in case a lead should be broken in the. holder. For this purpose,

, provide a single member which will simultitl taneously guide the pencil-feeding screw, prevent the lead-holder proper from rotating, and latch the said screw as wellas the' handle of the pencil normally in position. lt also aims to provide auxiliary means for deterring the withdrawal of the screw and handle Jfrom the casing of the holder when unlatched. lStill further and more detailed objects will appear from the following speci-- lication and from the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a central and longitudinal section through a pencil embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the lead holder proper which forms a part of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the handle mem- `Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 23, 1921.

1920. serial No. 391,976.

ber which includes the lead-feeding screw and which continuously houses at least a portion of the lead-holder of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the inner tube which guides the screw shank of the handle member, which normally latches the handle member in operative position, and which coperates with the said screw shank in causing thelongitudinal movement of the lead-holder.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged end view of the inner tube of Fig. 4, taken from the right hand end' of Fig. 4.

In the embodiment of the drawings, the holder of my invention includes a tubular casing or barrel comprising a main cylinder 1portion 1 and a taperingvforward portion 2,

the latter having a bore closely approaching the diameter of one of the leads 3 which are to be used with the device. Rigidly secured within this casing or barrel is an inner tube 4 which butts at its forward end into the tapering bore of the tip portion 2 and which is enlarged at its' rear end to closely fit the main bore'of the barrel l so that it can readily be soldered to the latter. This inner tubehas a longitudinal slot 5 extending from a point near its 'forward end up into the tapering portion which joins the main part of this inner tube with the enlarged rear end, thereby affording an opening extending radially outward from the main bore portion of this inner tube as shown in Fig. 4. This radial extension 8 of the slot permits the insertion from the rearend oi' the barrel ot' the lead-holder proper, which latter consists of a tube 6 which is desirably slotted for part of its length as'shown in Fig. 2 to afford a spring grip for the lead. This leadholder 6 carries a projecting finger 7 of a size adapted to pass through the extension 8 of the longitudinal slot in the inner tube.

The rear end of the casing or barrel is normally closed by a handle 9 which is connected by a stem 10 with a spiral tubular portion 11, this spiral portion being part ot the handle member which normally houses at least a portion of Vthe lead-holder G. When the parts are assembled, the pin T on the lead holder extends radially of the lat* ter between two successive turns of the spiral stem portion ll of the handle member and projects into the longitudinal slot 5 of the inner tube. I@onseqpuently. the walls of this slot 5 engage the pin 7 and prevent the lcadlio retracted to any desired extent without touching the lead itself with the hand or any lother ob'ect.

To guide the handle member a ainst accidental-withdrawal from the casing during the ordinary manipulation of the pencil, I provide suitable means for latching the handle member in the inner tube, and I preferably arrange these means so that the will permit the handle member to be free y rotated in either direction and so that they will allow the handle member to be-un latched for withdrawal from the inner tube when in one particular position. To accomplish this, I am hereshowing the stem'10 of the handle member as provided with a collar 14 normally disposed forwardly of an inwardly directed finger or lug 12 onrthe enlarged rear end portion of the inner tube, and am showin the stem as contracted in diameter immediately back of this collar 14, for a length corresponding to that of the lug, so as to afford a roove 15 normally engaged by the lug or finger. The collar 14 on the stem has a port1on cut Aaway-to correspond in contourto the said lug, so that the collar can be drawn past the lug toward the rear of the pencil when the said recess or cut-away portion is op osite the lug.

In practice, this simple atching provision might make it a little too easy to withdraw the handle member, hence I desirably also provide auxiliary means for deterring the withdrawal of the handle member from the barrel of the pencil after the latter is thus unlatched. F or this purpose, I desirably mount within the barrel 1 back of the inner tube a flange 13 having its bore threaded to correspond to a thread on the said collar 14, so that after the handle has been unlatched from the lug 12 it still encounters the flange 13 and must be screwed through the latter before the handle member can be entirely withdrawn from the casing. To permit of this auxiliary latching` I space the flange 13 from the lug 12 by a distance slightly greater than the length of the Collar 14, so that the latter can rotate between the -'lange 13 and the lug until started on its threading through the collar 13. In this way, I guard against an unintentional detaching of the parts, and by equipping the collar 14 and the flange 13 with only a few threads, I do not interfere with the normal operation of the spiral lead-advancing mechanism of my pencil.

With the parts arranged as described and pictured, it will be evident that the inner tube, although quite simply constructed, serves a number of different purposes without requiring any auxiliary parts or fasten- With the forward end of the inner tu e engaging the tapering bore of the barrel, a fastening of the rear part of this tube to the barrel suices for holding the tube in axial alinement with the barrel. By4 using a split lead-holder, I secure the desired firm grip ing of the lead Without requiring an un ue exactness in size of the lead, so that I overcome the diiiiculties met on this score with some of the pencils now on the market. Moreover, the bore of the tip of the barrel need not tit the lead closely, while resiliency of the spiral stem portion 11 (which does not need to fit the inner tube closely) permits of variations in the exact size of the' various parts.

In practice, the lug 12 is desirably made by forming an inwardly 'directed bend or indentation at the extreme rear end of the enlarged: portion of this inner tube after the manner shown in Fig. 5. However, while I have thus illustrated and described my invention in a highly desirable embodiltherein, a, rotatable handle member having a tubular spiral portion disposed within the slotted part of the guide tube, a lead-holder slid'ably disposed within the said spiral-portion; and means associated with the leadholder, the slot in the guide tube and the said spiral portion for causing a rotation of the handle member to move the lead-holder longitudinally of the casing and for enabling the lead-holder and the spiral tube to be simultaneously withdrawn from`the casing' by manipulation of the handle member.

2. In a lead-feeding pencil, a tubular casing, a longitudinally slotted guide tube fast therein, a handle member rotatable in the casing and manually removable from the latter and having a tubular spiral portion disposed within the slotted part of the guide tube, a lead-holder slidably disposed within the said spiral portion; and a guide. fin r fast on the lead-holder and extending through the gap between convolutions of the spiral portion into the slot in. the guide tube, `the said finger and spiral coperating to cause a rotation of the handle member in either direction to move the lead-holder longitudinally of the casing and also to enable the lead-holder to be withdrawn from the easing upon removal of the handleinember from the casing.

3. In a lead-feeding pencil, a tubular casing, a guide having its rear portion enlarged in diameter and having a longitudinal slot in its forward portion, a handle member rotatably mounted on the casing and having a. tubular spiral portion disposed within the slotted part of the guide tube; a lead-holder slidaloly disposed within the said spiral portion, and a guide finger fast on the leadholder and extending through the gap between convolutions of the spiral portion into the slot in the guide tube; the said slot extending into the part of the tube connecting the main portion with the said enlarged portion, thereby affording an opening through which the guide finger can pass when the lead holder is withdrawn from the casing.

4. In a lead-feeding pencil, a tubular casing, a lead-holder movable therein, a handle member rotatable on the easing, means associated with the handle member and the leadholder for causing a rotation of the former to move the lead-holder longitudinally of t-he casing, and a plurality of means for latching the handle member in the casing, the said latching means being arranged for releasing the handle member from the casing after a plurality of successive rotational movements of the handle member with respect to the casing.

5. In a lead-feeding pencil, a tubular casing, a lead-holder movable therein, a handle member rotatable on the easing, means associated with the handle member and the leadholder for causing a rotation of the former to move the lead holder longitudinally of the casing, and a plurality of means for latching the handle member in the casing, the said latching means being arranged for releasing the handle member from the casing after a plurality of successive rotational and longitudinal movements of the handle member with respect to the casing.

6. In a lead-feeding pencil, a tubular casing, a lead-holder movable therein, a handle member rotatable on the casing, means associated with the handle member and the leadw holder for causing a rotation of the former to move the lead-holder longitudinally of the easing, and a plurality of means `for latching the handle member in the casing, the said latching means being arranged for releasing t-he handle member from the casing after a plurality of successive rotational movements of the handle member with respect to the casing. one of the said latehing means being integral with the guide tube.

T. In a lead-feeding pencil, a tubular casing. a lead-holder movable therein. a handle member rotatable on the casing` means associated with the handle member and the leadholder for causing a rotation of t-he former to move the lead holder longitudinally of the casing, and a plurality' of means for latching the handle member in the casing; the said latching means being arranged for releasing the handle member from the casing after a plurality of successive rotational movements of the handle member with respect to the casing, the handle member having a collar equipped with a lateral recess and the latching means including an inwardly directed finger fast with respect to the casing and adapted to pass by the said eollar when the recess in the latter is in alinement with the finger.

8. In a lead-feeding pencil, a tubular casing, a lead-holder movable therein, a handle. member rotatable on the casing, means associated with the handle member and the leadholder for causing a rotation of the former to move the lead-holder longitudinally ot the casing, and a plurality of means for latching the handle member in the casing, the said latching means being arranged for releasing the handle member from the casing after a plurality of successive rotational movements of the handle member with respect to the easing, the handle member having a threaded collar equipped with a lateral recess; the latching means including an inwardly projecting linger fast with respect to the casing and adapted to pass by the said shoulder when the recess .in the latter is in alinement with the finger, and a flange fast within the casing back of the tinger and threaded to match the threading on the collar.

9. A pencil as per claim 7, in which the handle member has a groove back of the collar on the stem corresponding in length to the said finger and normally entered by the tip of the finger, whereby the engagement of the finger with the ends of this groove normally prevents longitudinal movementof the handle member in either direction with respect to the casing.

10. In a lead-feeding pencil, a tubular casing, a rearwardly open guide extending longitudinally of the casing within the latter, a handle member rotatably mounted on the casing and having a tubular spiral portion extending adjacent to the said guide, a leadholder slidably disposed within the said spiral portion and prevented from rotation by engagement with the guide. the handle member heilig mounted to permit its withdrawal from the easing and the rearward opening of the guide permitting the leadholder to be withdrawn with the handle member.

Signed at lhicago, Illinois` June Q1, 1920.

LORING L. BLAKE. 

